Slice of Life
by iEvenstarEstel
Summary: A little slice of life between Alice and Hatter living in her world.


Slice of Life  
2010 Evenstar Estel

Finally getting what he wanted most in all the worlds had left Hatter more than a little giddy. Kissing Alice was a thousands times more beautiful than he'd ever imagined. He was completely caught up in the thrill of the moment until the sound of Alice's mother clearing her throat finally brought the kissing couple out of their revelry. Alice's eyes flickered towards her mother and she expected Hatter to pull back but instead she felt his hands tighten about her waist as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Alice?" her mother inquired hautily. "What on Earth is going on here?"

"Um..." was Alice's only reply. She delicately disentangled herself from Hatter, but kept a firm grip on the sleeves of his jacket and put no more than a few inches distance between them. "Um, this is, uh Hatter. David Hatter, my...the..." At that moment Hatter seemed to regain his senses and turned to Alice's mother with the brightest smile imaginable on his face.

"The father of your future grandchildren!" he offered enthusiastically. It sort of went pear shaped after that. Getting beaten about the head with your own hat is not a particularly dignified thing, but afterwards, when Alice had rescued it and himself from her mother he found that his comment was not entirely without foundation as Alice hadn't stopped kissing him all afternoon. They sat comfortably on a bench in Central Park observing tourists and children alike clamouring over and around the bronze statues of characters from Lewis Carroll's novel. Hatter had gone about explaining that not soon after she'd been shoved through the Looking Glass and back to her own world that he'd decided to follow. Seeing her vanish before him and been the bludgeoning his head had so sorely needed to compel him to no longer hide his feelings for her. The newly crowned King Jack had appointed the former 'tea shoppe' owner Alice's noble protector in her realm. Given the fact that the Queen still had loyalists in both worlds it was only right that the saviour of the Kingdom have her own bodyguard. Hatter was only too eager to show Alice just all the ways he planned to guard her body. Mostly by shielding it with his, many times a day in multiple configurations. For her part Alice was beginning to accept how wonderful it was to be able to trust someone completely, really for the first time. She hugged Hatter tightly and sighed and he held her back and said simply, as if it wasn't the most important thing in the world to them. "I'm so in love with you Alice." That night he showed her just how much and he shed a good honest tear of happiness and wasn't in the least bit ashamed by it.

Two weeks after establishing himself in his new world, Hatter had determined that Van Morrison was the greatest thing on the planet, along with the good people at _Harney & Sons _ and the pizza (without mushrooms, Hatter refused to trust foreign fungi) at Papa Guiseppe's restaurant in the East Village. An acquaintance of Alice had labeled him a _steampunk _after his first foray into dressing for this new world. The penthouse that Jack had habituated was now his, a perk of being Alice's appointed protector and the Looking Glass had been relocated to floor below for safe keeping and for safe passage for all sanctioned travellers. There wasn't much free reign on inter-dimentional travel nowadays, which suited Hatter just fine. There wasn't a greater '_mood killer_' than a vagrant Wonderlander coming through unexpectedly just as he was attempting to seduce his lovely lady upstairs. He had yet to find a niche in this new world, and for a man whose skilsl are limited to philanthropy, con artistry, cunning tricks with a hat and how to make the perfect cup of tea, the choices were rather limited. But he didn't despair. He was above all a survivor.

After another two weeks Hatter was gainfully employed at a pub a few short blocks away from his abode. It was most definitely a pub and not a bar. Hatter hated bars with their thumping music and bizarre mixed drinks. The pub was low key and altogether a different pace of life. There was laughter and stories. It reminded him of when he used to serve proper tea at his tea shoppe and not the more elicit concoctions that came later. Most of all it passed the time between his being with Alice, who slowly but surely had been moving her belongings into the penthouse. He hadn't asked her to move in yet, and nor had she brought up the subject. It was an unspoken understanding that they were going to be together for the rest of their lives. He liked the conversation with the patrons and the owner, who reminded him a little of Charlie. Every evening after Alice had taught her last Karate class she would come in and take the seat reserved for her at the end of the bar. Hatter would put a plate of hot food down in front of her and stole a kiss before going back to pulling pints. She'd wait until his shift ended and the night time patrons carried on to the clubs and the nightlife of the city. He liked the pub in the final hours of the evening as it was closing and the clubs were just starting to open. Couples came in for night caps, as did old codgers who were escaping their nagging wives, as well as a myriad of lost souls who just needed a kind word and a bit of understanding. At his heart Hatter still thought he needed to be helping people.

Alise would eat her supper and study from her textbooks (she was attending University now, as of yet undecided on a major) and smile to herself listening to Hatter tell tall tales and give unsolicited but usually very sound advice. After last call, she'd pack up her books and help Hatter gather up the glasses from the tables. They'd walk home to his place hand in hand and fall haplessly into bed to make love, to sleep, or to talk. The routine was blissfully practiced for another two weeks without upset. Hatter however never let himself get too complacent. Years of playing both sides to survive in Wonderland's war kept him prone to sensing danger. It was a quarter to ten at night when the rowdy group of men came barreling into the nearly empty pub and plonked themselves into a booth. Clearly they were already ten sheets to the wind. Hatter met Alice's eyes across the bar and she quietly began to pack her things and put them behind the bar. Sarah, the rather young and pretty waitress who had moved to the city from Idaho of all places to seek her fame on Broadway, bravely approached the table of football player sized loudmouths. It didn't take long for the situation to get out of hand as she was almost immediately grabbed, pinched and felt up by the group of five.

"Oi!" shouted Hatter, swinging himself up and over the bar. Alice was already making her way over to Sarah. "You lot, out!" Alice put herself between them and Sarah who was making a tear filled retreat from the men. Hatter stood before them as they rose from their seats, standing a good head or two above him. "Pub's closed."

"Aw, come on man!" slurred one of the thugs. "We just want a drink." One of the men was leering at Alice who stood side by side with her boyfriend. Hatter cautiously tried to usher Alice behind him before the thug tried anything but she was having none of it. His girl was brave.

"Yeah, well I suspect you wouldn't know the difference between a _Speckled Hen _and a _Boddington's_ so I'm going to kindly invite you to sod off!" Hatter punctuated his demand with a little shove to the leader of the pack which naturally caused a volatile reaction.

"You wanna take this outside?" demanded the mammoth. Hatter giggled - an actual giggle.

"Who talks like that?" he asked, turning to Alice. "Honestly?"

"Hatter!" Alice admonished. "What are you doing?"

"Outside? Definitely. Coming love?" Hatter took Alice by the hand and made his way out to the street. The other patrons of the bar along with the owner followed after them and the very large testosterone fueled Neanderthals.

"Hatter are you trying to get yourself killed!?" demanded Alice.

"Not at all, sweets. Put together they're not even the size of a single Jabberwock!"

"This isn't Wonderland! It's five against one! You can't go getting into fights! You could get arrested. Or worse, you could get hurt!"

"You saw what they did to Sarah. What would Charlie think of me if I didn't defend a lady's honour? Trust me." Against her better judgment Alice backed off.

The thugs were cracking their knuckles and attempting to intimidate Hatter, but he was having none of it. Instead he was smiling ruefully and wiggling his fingers to limber them up. His intended sparring partner advanced but was halted when Hatter held up his hand in front of his face. "Not so fast!" said Hatter. "I'd like to warm up a little if I may?"

"What? Stop fucking around, chicken!" replied his opponent.

"Tsk tsk. If you don't learn to take things in stride the rest of your life may prove difficult. Now if you please, I'd just like to do this first and then we can have our little contretant..." Hatter turned away from the crowd and sauntered over to the solid brick wall of the building. He wrapped his knuckles on the bricks then drew back his right fist and delivered a single solid punch to the brick wall. Alice's footing was shaken when a perceptible reverberation passed under her feet. Cracks spidered out from the point of impact, travelling downwards to where it fissured the concrete of the sidewalk and upwards to the top of the three story building where a sconce that had stood there for almost a hundred years was dislodged and plummeted down into the alley with a definite thud. Hatter turned back to his audience and blew the dust off his completely undamaged fist. "Right, who's first?"

An hour later he and Alice were walking home, unscathed. The five morons had made a run for it once is sunk in that they were out of their league. The pub's owner figured he could bluff his way through getting the city to foot the bill for the damage to the building, faulty foundation and things of that ilk. He wasn't a man who impressed easily and Hatter had done that and more. Alice and Hatter had walked Sarah the two blocks to her own apartment before making their way to their own home.

"You're awfully quiet. Are you mad at me?" Hatter asked.

"No, not mad. I didn't like what happened back there, but I understand you didn't have much choice. Over all I'd say you handled that pretty well. You didn't even get in to an actual fight. I teach my student self-defense, not offense. I teach them to have confidence, but bravery comes from within. I guess I sort of forgot that you don't come from my world and that you have a lot more of it than the average man."

"I'll take that as a compliment if you don't mind."

"You're welcome. Is it just me, or does Wonderland feel like a million years ago?"

"Feels like yesterday to me." Alice notes the sadness in his voice, or maybe the regret. She only just begins to realize what he gave up by following her. He left his home, his entire life behind to be with her. She takes hold of his right hand, the one that touches her so gently late at night, the one nicknamed _the sledgehammer_ and she now knows why. She brings it to her chest, holding it against her heart. She knows he is a chameleon of sorts, a man who can adapt to any situation and she believes he's happy here with her, but she hopes she was worth the sacrifice.

"I love you, you know? I don't think I've said that yet." He smiled and wrapped his arm around her.

"You haven't. It's really nice to hear the words. I wouldn't trade a thousand Wonderlands for you, little Oyster."

They arrive at the penthouse, taking the elevator up to the floor where the Looking Glass waits to see if any messages of come through, telling of news in Wonderland or impending visitors. It's a good system the two sides have going and it lets Hatter feel a little connected to his old life. Sure enough an envelope sits on the floor in front of the giant mirror. But this isn't like any they've received before. The paper is of the highest quality with a tell tale heart embossed on the front above the names of Alice & Hatter written in immaculate calligraphy. He passed it to Alice to allow her to open it. She does so carefully, as not to ruin the finery of the presentation. Inside she finds and equally as beautiful invitation - the the upcoming wedding of King Jack Heart and The Duchess. She doesn't flinch as she reads the the details. Three days in her world before the wedding, a few weeks in theirs. She passes the paper to Hatter to reads it himself.

"Well, good for them," he says, trying to read Alice's reaction, but she was blank. "Alice?"

"I expected to feel something. Jealousy or disappointment, or _something_."

"And just what are you feeling?" Alice plucked the invitation from Hatter's hand and set it down on a windowsill. Wrapping her arms around his neck she drew him down to kiss him slowly and sweetly on the lips.

"That everything's just as it should be." He smiled and Alice felt like her whole soul was set aflame. There was a very good reason Jack's nuptials had no effect on her, her heart was too full of the man standing before her. So full in fact that she felt a levity she hadn't felt since she was a child. It was as if Hatter had finally filled the void inside her.

"Agreed. So, we going to this shindig? I dare say I'd look quite dapper in a top hat n' tails."

"Yeah, we can go. It'll be good to see Charlie. Hatter?"

"Yes, love?"

"When I said that I loved you, I didn't just mean it in a boyfriend/girlfriend infatuation sort of way. Or even the kind you get with close friends that have been through stuff together. And I didn't mean the kind of love that comes out of great sex and good fun. I meant the kind that you feel right down to your bones, the kind you feel for family, the kind you feel when you realize you'll never need anyone else in the whole world for the rest of your life. I love you in all those ways. I love you in the most serious and the silliest ways you can imagine. Hatter, aside from my mom and my dad and my cat, I've never loved anyone, but I love you!"

Hatter felt his knees grow weak. In all his years he'd never heard such a confession. No one had ever even scratched the surface of what Alice professed to feel about him. He felt a bit like he was going to faint.

"Alice... " His voice cracked when he spoke her name. He knew his luck had been steadily changing for the better since he'd met this passionate woman, but he'd only ever hoped she'd come to feel for him a fraction of what he felt for her. Now here she was confessing it to him. "So... so when I said to your mum that I was the father of her future grandchildren..."

"You weren't lying. But give me a few years okay? I want to finish school first."

"Alice! You really want to have m'children?"

"Yeah, I do. You're totally going to ignore the few years thing, aren't you?" He cleared his throat and shook his head.

"No, no, I heard you. Fine. Totally fine. Yep, just fine n' dandy-o. We've got a long way to go yet before we're ready to be parents. But dreaming of it... oh Alice, I can't begin to tell you happy it makes me. To have a family of my very own, you can't imagine how much I've wanted it." Alice knew there was a deeper story hidden in the background. And knowing how Wonderland had been under the Queen's control, she suspected it to be a very sad one. She wasn't going to spoil his mood now however. She was going to let him revel in his newfound joy. Hatter's demeanour shifted from one of jubilance to one Alice had come to know all too well. Hatter could create a year's worth of "_lust_" to sell in his tea shoppe with the look he was giving her now. He pulled her against him and the evidence of his sudden arousal was pressed firmly against her lower abdomen. His kisses could vary from feather light to crushing, but he surprised her with a slow, languid kiss with his tongue gently rolling and curling around hers. She'd expected him to take her frantically, but instead his emotions had gotten the better of him and she felt all his defenses crumbling. Hatter was a man of great bravado in front of everyone he met and Alice knew, especially now, that she was the only one who ever saw the real him, saw his heart. When their lips parted Alice felt drunk with him. "I need you Alice."

"C'mon, let's go upstairs." He held her close and rested his head against hers as the pair walked to the stairs that lead to their apartment.

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"For trusting me. For choosing _me_."

The End


End file.
